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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Swept in Double-Header

July 6, 2018 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio found ways to win in extra-innings in both ends of Thursday night's double-header, taking game one, 4-3 in eight frames and the night cap by the same score in nine innings over Northwest Arkansas.

In the opener, the Naturals trailed, 3-0 entering the sixth inning. Khalil Lee singled up the middle to plate Nick Dini from second base to cut the Missions lead to 3-1. The next inning, Alex Liddi tied the score with a two-out, two-run home run over the right-centerfield wall to force a bottom of the seventh.

The 3-3 score held into the eighth. After Northwest Arkansas was held scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, a bases-loaded walk to Nick Schulz pushed the Missions to a 4-3 extra inning win.

Starter, Arnaldo Hernandez twirled a six inning, quality start. The 22-year old allow three runs, two earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts in a no-decision. Andres Machado (0-3, 5.00) suffered the loss with an inning and one-third of one-run relief.

The home run by Liddi in the seventh inning snapped a five-game homerless drought for Northwest Arkansas and marked his 11th big fly of the season. Anderson Miller finished the opener with a double in three at-bats while Kort Peterson launched his first triple of his Naturals' career in the seventh frame.

The night cap was a bullpen day for both sides. Right-hander, Pedro Fernandez worked three and two-third innings of scoreless baseball, making his first start since Sept. of 2017 with Omaha. The 24-year old left with a man on second and two-outs and Grant Gavin notched the final out of the frame to keep the Naturals 1-0 lead.

Liddi gave Northwest Arkansas a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning with a two-out RBI single to score Miller from second base. The 1-0 advantage held until Schulz came through again for San Antonio with a broken-bat single in to short left-centerfield to tie the game in the sixth inning.

The knotted score force extra-innings for the second consecutive game. Northwest Arkansas pushed across two runs in the top of the eighth inning, using a single by John Brontsema and two errors on the same play to take a 2-1 lead. Brontsema scored two batters later on a run-scoring single by Lee to make it a 3-1 lead.

Franco Terrero went out for the eighth inning. He originally entered in the sixth following one shutout frame by Gavin and two-thirds of a frame by left-hander, Gabe Speier, and got the first two outs to begin his eighth inning. With a man on third and two-out, Schulz doomed the Naturals again with a game-tying two-run home run to tie the game at 3-3.

Bryan Brickhouse (0-3) took the mound for the ninth inning and fielded a bunt by Rod Boykin. The threw went wide of first base and skipped into the seats to allow the inherited runner to score, giving the Missions a 4-3 win in extras.

Jecksson Flores singled in both ends of the double-header and extended his hitting streak to career-best 16 games in the process.

Northwest Arkansas (37-45/2-10) prolongs their lost streak to five games and has now dropped seven of the last eight road games. The Naturals are now 2-4 in double-headers on the season.

The series concludes tomorrow at Wolff Stadium with left-hander, Emilio Ogando (4-5, 6.71) on the mound opposite of San Antonio starter, Logan Allen (8-3, 2.66).

Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, for a 6:45 p.m. pregame show leading up to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch on 92.1-FM, the Ticket.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information, including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics



Texas League Stories from July 6, 2018


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